The present invention relates generally to furniture drawer assemblies, and particularly, to a drawer that may be quickly assembled without tools, separate hardware, or glues.
For many years, furniture drawers, such as those for desks or cabinets, have been assembled in furniture manufacturers"" plants from cut pieces of wood according to factory design specifications. Drawer assembly has been completed by either skilled artisans or through the use of special equipment designed specifically for the task. This, however, requires considerable warehouse storage space and shipping space for completed units, involves special handling requirements to minimize the risk of damage to assembled products, and ultimately results in higher per unit costs. Damage still often results, at considerable cost, in transporting the finished product from manufacturer to retailer and from retailer to the final customer.
One solution to these problems has been the development of furniture and drawer kits that include wooden pieces either cut to order or in commercially popular sizes precut and available off the shelf. Such kits require less storage space and are easier to ship, but often include complex assembly instructions, requiring a variety of tools and more than a modest level of skill for proper assembly. As a result, a variety of kits have been developed for home assembly or assembly at the retailer by less skilled do-it-yourselfers following very specific instructions and using special hardware developed specifically for use with the kit.
There is known in the art a drawer that is assembled from two side wall sections, two end wall sections, and a bottom, using separate metal tie members at each corner to hold the drawer together. The art also discloses a drawer slide which forms a side wall of a drawer and has holding devices for securing a rear wall. There is also known an interlocking drawer assembly suited for forming drawers from plastic in which male and female interlocking portions are formed in each individual panel, the panels being held together by hooks and positive detents. The prior art also discloses drawer assembly kits that include side, bottom, front, and rear plates and intricate arrangements of slots, protrusions, hooks, clips, and positioning lugs to effect a complete assembly. In assembling such kits, however, tools, as well as dexterity on the part of the assembler, are often required.
The present invention is directed to a five-piece drawer that may be quickly assembled without the use of tools, additional hardware, or glue, yet is strong and has sufficient durability to withstand many years of use. Further, such a drawer may be easily assembled by unskilled purchasers following simple instructions.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a five-piece quickly assembled drawer that includes opposed side walls, a drawer bottom, and front and rear walls. Desirably, the walls and drawer bottom are constructed of a pressed wood, but any other suitable solid wood or wood composite material, as well as rigid plastic materials may be used. Each side wall is constructed of metal or a strong polymer and has a front and rear end, as well as a bottom ledge. The bottom ledge extends inwardly from the bottom edge and provides support for the drawer bottom when assembled. Retaining members are integrally provided and extend inwardly from the front and rear ends of the side walls for receiving and holding the drawer front and rear walls in place. Further, the retaining members extend downward at least as far as the bottom ledge to prevent the drawer bottom from sliding forward or rearward following assembly. For ease of assembly, to eliminate additional hardware, and to provide a snug fit, the retaining members may each include an angled flange extending from the free end of each retaining member. Each flange engages correspondingly angled slots in the front and rear walls. The angle between the retaining member and the flange should be less than about 90 degrees, and desirably between about 40 and 70 degrees to ensure proper containment and a snug fit. A roller and drawer slide may be integrally formed with each side wall, thus eliminating the need for attaching separate mounting hardware on the drawer assembly. Another aspect of the present invention is to provide downwardly extending cleats on the outer edges of the flanges for gripping and holding down the front and rear walls. These cleats further prevent the front and rear walls from being easily removed.
A horizontal groove may be formed across the outer surfaces of the front and rear walls parallel to the bottom edges thereof. One or more L-shaped connectors may be inserted in each groove for securement of the drawer bottom to the front and rear walls. A generally L-shaped clip having a flange for engaging the groove is a suitable connector; however, any other suitable connectors such as clips, hooks, springs, or the like, may be used. While these grooves and connectors are not required for satisfactory assembly of the drawer, they provide an additional measure of holddown force and prevent sagging of the drawer bottom in wide drawers.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings.